Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have held with the British Medical Association, Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland, the Royal College of Anaesthetists and the World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists about the potential impact on the world’s rural poor of restrictions on the availability of ketamine.

Ketamine is widely used as an anaesthetic in low and middle income countries. The Coalition Government believes that it is inappropriate to control ketamine internationally as it could result in reduced access to a substance listed as an essential medicine by the World Health Organisation. We will be adopting this position at the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs.

However, we are determined to clamp down on the illegal misuse of ketamine, which is why we have made ketamine a Class B drug and taken action to ensure its availability for health and veterinary care in the UK is properly regulated.

We continue to discuss our concerns over the impact of international control with a range of civil society groups and professional bodies, including bodies representing anaesthetists.